Asian parliament seen in five years

Leaders of six Asian nations have agreed to work for the establishment of an Asian parliament within five years.

The consensus was reached during the first-ever meeting last Tuesday of the senior advisory council of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) chaired by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

Besides De Venecia, the council is composed of Speaker Amir Hussain of the Parliament of Pakistan; Prince Ranarridh, president of the National Assembly of Cambodia; Bhokin Bhalakula, speaker of the National Assembly of Thailand; Han Qide, vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China; and Sheikh Hasina, member of parliament of Bangladesh.

The foreign lawmakers are attending the ongoing 112th assembly in Manila of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The planned Asian parliament is similar to the European Parliament.

During the advisory council meeting, Rene van der Linden, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, briefed De Venecia and his colleagues on the experience of European nations in their political and economic integration that led to the establishment of the European Parliament.

Sheikh Hasina, former minister of Bangladesh, said the eventual formation of the Asian parliament would "certainly strengthen democracy in the region."

He and other foreign parliamentarians lauded the efforts of Senate President Franklin Drilon and De Venecia for their successful staging of the IPU conference and the AAPP advisory council meeting here.

Yesterday, council members toured the Batasan complex in Quezon City, where De Venecia has created an interim secretariat for the planned Asian parliament.